Exemplary embodiments relate to an electronic device, and more particularly, relate to a memory system.
One type of flash memory device is an EEPROM, in which multiple memory regions are erased or programmed by one program operation. A conventional EEPROM may enable only one memory region to be erased or programmed once. Such flash memory device operates more rapidly when systems using the flash memory device perform read and write operations on different memory regions simultaneously. All types of flash memory and EEPROM may wear out after a predetermined number of erase operations due to wearing-out or deterioration of insulation film surrounding a charge storing means used to store data.
A flash memory device may store information on a silicon chip such that power is not needed to retain information stored on the silicon chip. That is, the information is retained without power, e.g., when power to the silicon chip is turned off. Additionally, a flash memory device may provide resistance to physical impact and relatively fast read access times. Because of these characteristics, a flash memory device is generally used for data storage of battery-powered devices.